A Vancouver Police Constable has been charged with assault after he allegedly struck a prisoner in a patrol wagon last year.

The police department said Constable Matthew McKinnon replaced a wagon driver on August 26, 2011, just before 8 a.m., because the first driver had been pricked by a needle that was concealed in the clothing of the prisoner she was searching.

McKinnon and his partner then approached the prisoner, say the VPD, to ask him whether he had any communicable diseases.

They say that McKinnon then entered the wagon and assaulted the prisoner using physical force.

The prisoner was taken to jail, where he was examined by a nurse, and required no medical treatment, say the VPD.

McKinnon has been reassigned to non-operational duties pending the outcome of his trial.

The Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner was immediately advised of the incident and has been overseeing the Police Act investigation that is being conducted by the VPD Professional Standards Section.

As this matter is now before the courts, there is no further information at this time.

4 Responses to Vancouver Police Constable charged with assault

I think if a member of my family was pricked by a dirty drug user’s needle, I would have reacted the same way as the officer did. The VPD have to come in contact with these sorts of people on a daily basis and it puts their health on the line when something like this could have happened. Then if the worst case scenario happens and you do acquire one of the diseases, you put your family at home in grave risk. I think its easy to cast a stone from far, but I believe if we were going to try and walk in a police officer’s shoes, it would be a difficult task to do.

So you would beat a handcuffed and defenseless man, in self righteous, retaliatory anger, after invading his person, rifling your hands around in his pockets looking for something illegal you can use to add to quota of arrests for the day, and getting stabbed with his property? Geez you sound like a good man. Cough Cough* The police think they have every right to be payed way too much, to police people who dont want to be police, and that its okay to lash out when they pay the price for the bullshit work they do on the streets. And its a good thing its difficult work because if it wasn’t that would be a sure sign your living in a locked down, Orwellian police state.The police should spend less time sticking their hands in peoples pockets and noses in peoples business and get a job that doesnt put them in a position of power over people, because they all abuse that power.

Well first you need to get your facts straight. When the officer got pricked they were simply getting a pair of pants out of the accused’s backpack. The permission was granted to the officer by the accused, so there was no “invading his person” as you say. Nice try on that one though. The police are paid a substantial amount, but so are firefighters and EMS workers. All of these occupations pay well because they deal with the worst people everyday, when we only see these type of people on cop shows. They go places we dont even know exist and put themselves in dangers way when the normal citizen would turn and run. How much would it take for you engage someone who was known to have a gun, and wants to kill you? So before you judge their pay, you should think about all contributing factors. I am sure they are thankful for the pay cheque, and if you are a tax payer (which a lot of people aren’t who complain about police) they are thanking you for your contribution 😉 You have probably been a subject to a traffic stop and received a speeding ticket and have had a bad experience because you got caught doing something wrong. I feel sorry for you and how you generalize “they all abuse their power” In every job there are good workers, lazy workers etc….I am sure you have that at your work (if you work). Give your head a shake and realize they are putting their life on the line every day to protect the general public.

You should give your head a shake and open your eyes to the reality of the whole institution of fascist policing. Assuming we do not consider the things you’ve brought up is ignorant and a weak attempt to validate your opinion. Rifling through someones bag or in their pockets is an invasion of that person either way. The police are not elected, they are not accountable for their actions, and when they are, they usually end up with a paid suspension when they should be charged with assault. Maybe if you took the time to consider both sides of this argument, from different sources, and kept an open mind, you would learn a thing or two about reality.